Convertible beds or the like



July 11, 1967 L R 3,329,976

CONVERTIBLE BEDS OR THE LIKE Filed April 22, 1966 lnvenlor Max/Am m/v H-L 1. 5/2

United States Patent 3,329,976 CONVERTIBLE BEDS OR THE LIKE Maximilian Heller, 716-20 Seven Sisters Road, London, England Filed Apr. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 544,533 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 10, 1965, 19,666/65 1 Claim. (Cl. -24) This invention relates to convertible couches, beds, bunks, settees or the like (hereinafter referred to as couch-bed) and has for its object improvements regarding the construction as well as the convertibility of couchbeds said improvement being obtained by simple and inexpensive means.

According to this invention a convertible couch-bed comprises a rectangular rigid outer frame and a separate rigid interior frame, the latter being freely resting on substantially horizontally extending ledges, railings or like supports provided laterally at the narrow sides of said outer frame, said interior frame being movable by sliding or rolling on said supports and capable of being turned by 180 so that said interior frame becomes inverted relative to its original position.

One side of the interior frame is adapted to have the appearance of an ordinary couch whilst the reverse side of said frame is made up as a bed. Since the interior frame according to this invention has no axles, there is no connection at all with its outer frame. By employing ledges or like supports on which the interior frame can be slid or rolled out, the construction is greatly simplified and the height of this couch-bed can be kept very low, which feature cannot be obtained with beds or couches relying on their interior bodies being rotated around axles without said bodies being elevated since on turning these bodies, half of their width has to pass below the height of their axles.

There is no need to have a receptacle for storing the bed clothes and the making of the bed may be done at a convenient time, thus eliminating the cumbersome procedure of preparing the bed when a person is about to lie down. Owing to the said features, this invention is particularly useful for homes, hotels, railways, ships, or wheresoever a dual purpose bed is opportune.

Details of various advantageous features of this invention will become apparent from the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawing which illustrates in perspective, by way of example, various embodiments of the invention, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an outer frame and a movable interior frame of a couch-bed.

FIG. 2 depicts an interior frame fitted with various sur faces.

FIG. 3 is a partial view of a frame, and

FIG. 4 illustrates an upholstered interior frame.

Referring to the drawing, the couch-bed of FIG. 1 shows a rigid rectangular outer frame a having at both of its narrow sides ledges b consisting of bars, rails, tubes, sectional railings or like members, the latter constituting supports for a separate rigid interior frame 0 (shown in broken lines), the latter extending within the frame a. The frame c is freely supported on the projecting members b and may consist, by way of example, of a tubular frame as shown in this figure having a coherent wire, mesh or the like surface d. Said frame 0 and its surface d may be replaced by a rigid board of any suitable material having sutficient thickness and stiffness to eliminate the need for a frame. Sleeping on hard surfaces is in some cases commendable. When the frame is provided with an upholstery, care has to be taken that the narrow sides of frame c which rest on the ledges b are left free from any guide rail for an interior ice upholstery so as not to interfere with the sliding or turning movements of said frame.

When the longitudinal front part of the interior frame 0 is lifted, its opposite end portion rests freely on the lateral ledges b, thus allowing said frame c of being easily pulled forward relative to the front part of the stationary outer frame a until a position is reached when the raised frame c tilts towards the rear of frame a. At this stage, the frame c drops automatically on to the ledges b thus becoming fully inverted after having performed a circular movement of By repeating the hereinbefore described procedure, the original position of said frame c is restored, that is to say, the fame c has then described a circular movement of 360 in two phases of 180. This procedure may be repeated indefinitely and may be carried into effect from either of the longitudinal sides of the couchbed. The frame a may be made of wood, metal, plastic composition or like rigid material, and the frame c may be made of the same material or of any suitable rigid material whereas the ledges b may be made of wood, flat or sectional metal, tubes or the like. If, for instance, the ledges b as well as the frame 0 are made of tubes having a rounded-off cross-section, the friction when pulling frame 0 will be considerably reduced. Moreover, it is shown that the ledges b are situated lower than the top of the outer frame so that the frame c on being turned will drop into the surrounding outer frame whereupon any further movement is automatically stopped without necessitating any connection of said frame c to frame a.

The interior frame 0 depicted in FIG. 2 shows by way of example fiat surfaces e at one part of said frame these surfaces may be rigid, resilient or flexible depending on whether wooden strips, rubber bands, webbing or the like are employed. The other end of said frame c is provided with compression springs f whilst the center of said frame is by way of example adapted with a tension spring arrangement g comprising steel strips. The rows of compression or hourglass springs may at their center portion be secured to strips, flexible webbing or the like extending across the width of the interior frame and said compression springs may be of a length to overlap the height of the shown frame 0.

The upper and the under sides of the hereinbefore mentioned fiat surfaces e and g are adapted with upholsteries which may be attached to the said fiat surface, or loose pads of latex, plastic foam, rubberised hair, helical spring units or like upholstery material may be placed at both sides (top and bottom) of the surface (as indicated in broken lines) and interconnected by stitching, tufting or the like thus holding said materials in position at said surfaces c or g.

One side of the upholstered interior frame c is provided with a top cover of furnishing material whereas the other side may be covered with a ticking.

To facilitate the mobility of the interior frame c a pair of outwardly projecting members h are arranged at either of the narrow sides of frame c said members being freely supported on ledges b. The members h may consist of studs, rollers, wheels or like transport members and are well spaced from each other so that each individual transport member is situated at or near the corners of the interior frame 0.

FIG. 3 is a partial view of an example of a guide rail i within which wheels h are running. Said rails i are attached to the narrow sides of frame a and in order to enable the lifting and turning of frame c and its transport members h, the top portions of rails i are removed at their opposite ends. Other guide rails may be U-shaped or the like or the wheels h may be guided in grooves provided at ledges b (not shown).

FIG. 4 depicts a fully upholstered member 0 having studs h serving as transport members. The upholstery shows the mattress side of frame 0 and a handle k as well as a sling I may be provided, the former to ease the What is claimed is:

A convertible couch bed comprising a rectangular rigid V outer frame having secured at the interior surface of each of the narrow ends thereof a rigid support member extending substantially the length of said narrow ends, each of said support members having a rounded surface and a separate rigid interior frame provided with a uniplanar surface structure, said structure having a pad secured to the top and bottom thereof, said pads having a length shorter than the length of said interior frame so that said interior frame rests freely on said rigid support members, said interior frame at each of the narrow ends thereof provided with means extending substantially the length thereof, each of said means having a rounded surface for 4 sliding and rotating engagement with the rounded surface of a corresponding rigid support member so that said interior frame can be rotated through 180 and wherein said means provided at each of the narrow ends of said interior frame abut against the interior surface of the corresponding narrow end of said outer frame.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,001,390 8/1911 Gross 524 X 2,132,664 10/1938 Wessel 5-24 2,838,771 6/1958 Goodman et al 5345 3,138,806 6/1964 Goodman et al 5-345 X FOREIGN PAT ENTS 444 7/ 1899 Austria. 150,260 1/ 1932 France. 812,461 2/1937 France.

CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner. 

